DriverCheck's chief medical officer previews the October 28 virtual summit, covering oral fluid testing, cannabis law and accommodation duties
DriverCheck Inc. will host its ninth annual Fitness for Duty Summit virtually on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, bringing together medical, legal and law enforcement experts to address workplace impairment testing and accommodation obligations across Canada. Dr. Jonathan W. Davids, Chief Medical Officer at DriverCheck, said the daylong educational event will lean heavily into oral fluid drug testing, a collection method he expects to dominate conversation among safety-sensitive employers this year.
Oral fluid testing takes centre stage
The summit's morning session, led by Dr. Melissa Snider-Adler, Chief Medical Review Officer at DriverCheck, will examine oral fluid testing's growing role alongside traditional urine collection. Davids said the method offers employers a narrower window into recent drug use.
"Oral fluid has taken off over the last several years over our traditional urine drug testing for a number of reasons," Davids said. "Certainly one of the reasons is that it's got a shorter window of detection, so you can actually hone down on when a person last used, just to try to ensure that any drug tests that we're getting, we might actually be picking up some impairments."
Davids pointed to a newer split-sample oral fluid device DriverCheck introduced last year, which divides a single collection into two testable portions. "We have a new oral fluid device out there that allows us to take an oral fluid sample, and we split the collection device," he said. "So you get a sample A and a sample B," allowing a second test if a worker challenges the result.
He also highlighted the collection method's observed process as a draw for employers wary of tampering. "It's all observed," Davids said. "You watch a person put the swab in their mouth, you observe them standing there for about 10 minutes or so ... and then you watch them take it out and you put it in the collection tube. You can't do that with urine." Oral fluid testing has been used by Canadian employers for years, he noted, though its use is expanding as U.S. regulators move toward permitting it for federally regulated testing.
The topic builds on years of debate over how to test employees for cannabis impairment in Canadian workplaces, where detecting recent use rather than historical exposure remains a persistent challenge for safety-sensitive industries.
Legal and law enforcement perspectives on impairment
Employment lawyer Melissa Roth, a partner at Gowling WLG, will lead an afternoon session on how recent court and arbitration decisions are reshaping employer obligations around fitness for duty and accommodation. Davids said her session will address a question employers frequently raise: what happens after a worker tests positive.
"Just because you test positive doesn't mean that there is a violation of a policy," Davids said. "There could be some very legitimate reasons for a person using those substances. The crux of the issue then is: is this person fit for duty in the workplace if they're using a prescription medication like an opioid, for example?"
That question extends to commonly prescribed opioids and amphetamines, both of which appear on DriverCheck's standard drug testing panels alongside illicit substances. Roth's session follows recent analysis of substance impairment, safety and the law facing Canadian employers navigating human rights obligations.
Constable Curtis Steinke, a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) with the Edmonton Police Service's Impaired Driving Unit, will bring a law enforcement perspective to the discussion, comparing mandatory roadside screening with workplace testing and addressing when employers should consider involving police. The session also revisits ongoing questions around cannabis legalization and positive drug tests that continue to challenge employer policy.
Wellbeing and real-world strategies round out the agenda
Dr. Linda Duxbury, a professor at Carleton University's Sprott School of Business, will address employee wellbeing and the shifting post-pandemic "psychological contract" between workers and employers. Davids said the session reflects a broader shift in how DriverCheck frames fitness for duty.
"People are not just fit for duty because of substance use disorders," he said. "We also need to consider how people sort of come to work from a psychologically fit perspective."
The day closes with a panel featuring Shawn Monahan, manager of drug and alcohol programs at Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC); Michael MacDonald, manager of health services at Jazz Aviation; David Rost, manager of health services at TC Energy; and John L. Martin Jr., global substance abuse testing control unit manager at ExxonMobil Corporation. "Really excited to round out the day with those panel discussions and sort of the other elements of psychological fitness at work as well," Davids said.
What attendees need to know
The summit is accredited for 5.25 continuing professional development (CPD) hours through the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) and is eligible for Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals (BCRSP) CPD points. Individual tickets are $249.99, with discounts available for group purchases of three or more.
